Police | Lesser sentence denied in death of biker in Myrtle Beach area

Police

CONWAY

Lesser sentence denied in biker's death

A Myrtle Beach woman who was sentenced earlier this year to 18 years in prison for felony driving under the influence in the death of a motorcyclist returned to court Wednesday to ask for a lighter sentence.

Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Culbertson denied the request of 61-year-old Donna Sheedy, 15th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Scott Graustein said.

Sheedy pleaded guilty Feb. 4 to the charge and Culbertson sentenced her and ordered her to pay a $25,100 fine.

Culbertson ordered her to report to prison on March 6, but when she failed to show up at J. Reuben Long Detention Center, police arrested her at her house.

Sheedy sought the reduction because of her age, said Russell Long, her attorney.

"It's basically a life sentence for a criminal accident," Long said following the hearing.

"Eighteen years is too much. It's a harsh sentence for her."

Sheedy admitted she was driving under the influence on May 15, 2009 when Kenneth Temple, 47, of Centereach, N.Y., was killed while riding his motorcycle with family and friends on S.C. 544 near the Boardwalk shopping complex during the Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring rally.

Police said Sheedy's eastbound Mitsubishi crossed the center line and struck Temple, his nephew who was riding another motorcycle and then a pickup truck.

At the hospital a blood sample showed Sheedy's blood alcohol content was 0.27, assistant solicitor Scott Graustein said.

The legal blood alcohol limit is .08. Sheedy also had a DUI conviction in 2007.

"It was hoped she would've learned her lesson at that point," Graustein said of her prior conviction during the Feb. 4 hearing.

"This was a horrific felony DUI. This is the poster case for felony DUI."

CONWAY

CCU cheerleader imposter arrested

A woman who posed as a Coastal Carolina University cheerleader was arrested after police say she was going door-to door asking people for money she said would be used to buy uniforms.

Andrea Nichole Spencer, 24, was charged with obtaining property under false pretenses by Coastal's Department of Public Safety. Spencer is neither a cheerleader nor a CCU student, according to the university.

"CCU cheerleaders never solicit money door-to-door," said CCU Chief of Police David Roper in a statement.

"Anyone who has given money to the individual in question should contact us.

"We take these kinds of crimes very seriously."

Contact the CCU Department for Public Safety at 349-2177 for more information.

MYRTLE BEACH

Teen tells police he was robbed of phone

A Pawleys Island teen told police he was robbed early Wednesdday by a man in Myrtle Beach, according to a police report.

The victim was walking near 12th Avenue North and North Ocean Boulevard at 1 a.m. when two men approached and one of the men demanded money.

The victim gave the robber his money but refused to hand over his cell phone, the report shows. The robber then pushed the victim to the ground and left the scene with another man.

MYRTLE BEACH

Teens say man exposed himself

Myrtle Beach police are investigating a complaint that a man exposed himself to two teenagers last week at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, according to a police report.

The girls told police that they got into an elevator at the Landmark Hotel on 1501 S. Ocean Blvd. when a man suddenly boarded the elevator.

The man then exposed himself to the girls.